Number of cancer survivors rising in US: reports

Los Angeles, Mar.10: The number of cancer survivors in the United States has risen from 9.8 million in 2001 to 11.7 million in 2007, according to a report released by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The report was released on Thursday and stated that out of the 11.7 million people living with cancer, seven million were 65 or older.

Most of the survivors (54 percent) are women, with survivors of breast cancer making up the largest group, at 22 percent.

The report attributed the dramatic rise in the number of cancer survivors to earlier diagnosis and better diagnostic methods, better treatment and more follow-up care after treatment also contributed to the rise.

Report co-author Arica White, a CDC epidemic intelligence service officer, said: "The number of cancer survivors is expected to grow as the aging population grows. Many people are living a long time after diagnosis, and this is especially true for cancers that we have the ability to detect early."

According to the report, about 4.7 million survivors were first diagnosed ten or more years ago.

ANI